Pakistan, Oct. 5 -- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said that Palestinian group Hamas's response to US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan "creates a window for a ceasefire and ensuring peace that we must not allow to close again".

Late Friday night, Trump told Israel to immediately stop bombing Gaza after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, but vexing issues like disarmament appeared unresolved.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the premier said: "Alhamdolillah, we are closer to a ceasefire than we have been since this genocide was launched on the Palestinian people. Pakistan has always stood by the Palestinian people and shall always do so."

He also expressed grati...